FAO Sees World Food Prices Easing Slightly in April

Rabat – Food prices worldwide eased slightly in April after hitting an all-time record in March, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.

However, the FAO noted that global food security remains a concern amid the conflict in Ukraine.

The FAO Food Price Index (PPFI) declined by 0.8% in April, recording 158.5 points, compared to an upwardly revised 159.7 for March.

The FFPI is a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities.

The index had broken its record in March and February, marking the highest food prices since its inception in 1990.

FAO’s vegetable oil price index dropped 5.7% in April, as demand rationing pushed down prices for palm, sunflower and soy oils.

“The small decrease in the index is a welcome relief, particularly for low-income food-deficit countries,”said FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen.

He warned that “still food prices remain close to their recent highs, reflecting persistent market tightness and posing a challenge to global food security for the most vulnerable.”

FAO’s cereal price index fell by 0.7% in April, after a 17% jump in March. Maize prices dropped by 3% whereas wheat prices rose by 0.2%.

FAO said wheat was hit by the blockade of ports in Ukraine and increasing concerns over crop conditions in the US. These concerns were partially offset by larger shipments from India and higher-than-expected exports from Russia.

Meanwhile, sugar and meat prices rose by 3.3% and 2.2% respectively.

In a latest report, the FAO expressed alarm about global food insecurity, a situation that has been worsening worldwide since 2018.

As of 2021, more than 193 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition in over 50 countries due to conflicts, climate change, and the confluence of economic crises.

The figures significantly increased recently, rising by 40 million compared to 2020.

Conflicts alone affected 139 million people in 2021, particularly in countries with high political tensions and humanitarian crises such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

As for its 2022 projections, the FAO estimates that up to 181 million people could suffer from acute food insecurity by the end of the year.